ECOWAS court declares Nigeria’s Twitter ban unlawful

A court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has declared the ban on Twitter in Nigeria by the Federal Government unlawful.

According to the deputy director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) Kolawole Oluwadare, the ECOWAS court also ordered the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration not to repeat such.

The Star recalls that the Federal Government, on June 4, 2021, imposed a ban on the social media platform barely two days after it deleted the tweets of President Buhari.

The tweets, which referenced the Nigerian Civil War, threatened to deal with those behind insecurity in the “language they understand”.

But the Federal Government said the ban was not linked to the deleted tweets.

After talks with the microblogging site which lasted months, the Federal Government lifted the ban on January 13, 2022.

However, the ECOWAS court, in the judgment delivered today, declared that it has the jurisdiction to hear the case and that the case was therefore admissible.

The court also held that the act of suspending the operation of Twitter is unlawful and inconsistent with the provisions of Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights both of which Nigeria is a state party.

“The Buhari administration in suspending the operations of Twitter violates the rights of SERAP and 176 concerned Nigerians to the enjoyment of freedom of expression, access to information and the media, as well as the right to fair hearing,” the court ruled.

The court also ordered the President Buhari-led administration to take necessary steps to align its policies and other measures to give effect to the rights and freedoms, and to guarantee a non-repetition of the unlawful ban of Twitter.

The court also ordered the administration to bear the costs of the proceedings and directed the Deputy Chief Registrar to assess the costs accordingly.

Reacting to the judgement, SERAP lawyer in the suit, Femi Falana, SAN, said: “We commend the ECOWAS Court for the landmark judgment in the case of SERAP v Federal Republic of Nigeria in which the Judges unanimously upheld the human rights of community citizens to freedom of expression, and access to information.

“Even though the court had granted an interim order of injunction last year which restrained the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN from prosecuting Nigerians who defied the Twitter ban, SERAP deserves special commendation for pursuing the matter to a logical conclusion.

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and the full enjoyment of this right is central to achieving individual freedom and to developing democracy. It is not only the cornerstone of democracy, but indispensable to a thriving civil society.

“With the latest decision of the Court to declare the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria illegal it is hoped that the Heads of State and Governments of the member states of the Economic Community of West African States will henceforth respect and uphold the human right of community to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.”

The Star